The Bush administration is working to see that the Iraqi “government” does not kick out Blackwater.  The guy who owns Blackwater is a Bush backer.

These business partners have been a big part of the Bush policy. They serve three functions:

(1) Disguise the true size of our occupation force.

(2) Provide a conduit for lucrative contracts to corporations run by right-wing political donors.

(3) Supposedly, they are cheaper.
This is probably true for the contractors that provide services (such as food preparation) other than security. Even for the “highly paid” armed guards, it is possible that they are cheaper, as no goverment guarantee of lifetime care of war wounds is implied. For the most part injured contractors are simple out of luck.

  It is good to see the Iraqis grow a spine, and stand up against this stuff. We will see if they can make this action stick. The occupation has become dependent upon these guys, so I don’t expect Bush will meekly comply Iraqs request.

Isn’t this ironic.

Had Iraq refused the use of Mercenaries at the outset of this war they would have been rid of us long ago. There are 180,000 of these people in Iraq. They get the big bucks while our military operate at a 4th of the cost per person.

Whether this actually results in the removal of these paid civilians or not remains to be seen.

I’m afraid this was an internal political move on the part of the current Iraqi government designed to placate the population.

I fully understand that the money is too good to pass up so I don’t fault those willing on taking the chance to get ahead. I do believe that the use of civilian contractors was and will remain a serious mistake.

People like Rumsfield and Cheney see these contractors as a way to make profit.

I see the use of contractors as the best example ever of the dynamics that drive the military/industrial complex.